Of Broken Bonds and Corrupted Core
by twilighteve-writes
Summary: In an attempt to protect his teammates, Lance let himself be captured in a rescue mission gone wrong. He thought he was ready for anything the Galra and Druids threw at him, but he was proven wrong when Haggar herself took over and tried to make him into the Galra Empire's newest weapon. Against his will, he became the Ice Mage of Galra Empire.
1. The Capture

This story is sequel to Of Seas, Of Streams, of Falling Rain, of Naval Hurricane. While you can read it as a stand-alone, reading the previous work is highly recommended.

* * *

Chapter One: The Capture

What they expected from the Galra Empire when Zarkon fell was for the empire to replace him with someone and try to continue his reign. After all, ten thousand years of stepping all over people all over the universe and having no heir was just plain weird.

What they didn't expect was how _good_ Lotor would be in what he was doing and how much more _efficient_ the Galra could be in squashing the Defenders of the Universe's already low morale so thoroughly by spreading devastation everywhere, including the planets they'd freed before.

It was only then that they realized the only reason they survived Zarkon was because he was so fixated on the Black Lion. Lotor, who had none of that fixation, made scarily effective yet seemingly effortless attempts – successful attempts – at beating Voltron. He didn't need to go for Voltron or the Paladins. He just needed to strike the ones they've freed and let them work even harder from before and let all those people hail Voltron, completely overwhelming them with so many distress signals from so many familiar planets.

There were so many planets needed to be rescued at the same time, and there was only one Voltron. Soon, the Voltron Alliance began to break apart as more members lost their hope when they realized not even the legendary defender could win against the Galra.

"We can't let this happen," Shiro declared resolutely after losing another member of the Alliance. "We need to strike, bring Lotor down like we did Zarkon, or this will never end."

"Are we sure we want to do that?" Hunk asked nervously. "Last time we made an all-out attack things didn't go so well. We lost you. And the Galra probably upped the security too so we need to come back with better strategy."

"Then we will get a better plan," Shiro assured. "We're capable of it."

"If I may," Kolivan spoke up, and all eyes were on him immediately. "If we want to come up with a better plan, I suggest we free some more of the Galra's prisoners. There is a prison ship used to contain many of the universe's greatest minds, in which many scientists, scholars, engineers, and many more are imprisoned. The Druids conduct experiments on them to get their knowledge out of their brains. If my intel is correct, those knowledge is then used to make plans, so if we could infiltrate that ship and free the prisoners, taking down the empire should be easier."

"If your intel is correct?" Keith repeated. "Is there a chance that it's incorrect?"

"Yes," Kolivan replied. "That ship is handled by the Druids and drones only. No Galra has stepped inside the ship except for dropping and picking prisoners, which is why the information is incomplete. However, we do know that they have the universe's brightest minds. They would be at least as valuable as Slav."

"Wait, if they're as valuable as Slav, how is Slav put on Beta Traz instead of this weird experimental ship thingy?" Lance asked in confusion.

"That would be because of how I see all possibilities," Slav answered, drawing attention to him for the first time. "The Galra didn't want to experiment on me because they want all those possibilities. Experiments could mess that up and make me unable to see all those. Though, that doesn't stop them in at least four alternate timelines, and if I fall to their hands again there is no reality in which I am not thrown to that prison ship."

"The experiments have high possibility of breaking the subjects' minds," Kolivan explained. "It's possible to mend it back together, but it's rare."

"If taking down this prison could make taking down the empire easier, why haven't you suggested it the last time?" Pidge asked. "I mean, I get that lack of intel probably makes it extra dangerous, but it's not like the risk isn't worth the results."

"Because of the Druids," Kolivan sighed. "Fighting them is dangerous because how they could damage your body and your quintessence. They are powerful. You've fought Haggar; you should know this. However, with the situation now, I believe going to Alpha Kaj would be the best course of option as of now."

"I can see why you believe that," Allura said thoughtfully. "I suppose it _is_ dangerous going there, even now, but I don't think this is something we can brush aside. Where is this Alpha Kaj located?"

"It moves around," Kolivan approached the control deck to show a star map. "But it doesn't warp or make wormhole jumps. The latest intel from a Blade who was tasked to drop prisoners there show the prison was in the area of the brightest star in Neba galaxy, near the fifth planet closest to the star. It should still be in the general area."

Coran stepped closer. "Well, it looks like the Neba galaxy is only a wormhole jump away," he began, "but I suggest we go there _without_ the wormhole jump, in which case it would take three to five quintants. We're facing Druids, after all, so extra training on quintessence manipulation might be needed."

"I thought the Paladins can manipulate quintessence already?" Kolivan asked.

"Only a little," Shiro replied. "Lance is the most capable, since he can make tidal waves and icebergs out of nothing by now. Hunk can make earthquakes, Pidge can will plants to life though she needs seeds, and Keith, while still unable to make fire, is able to generate intense heat. I'm still not able to do anything, though."

"Well, you were held captive for weeks so you get a pass," Lance pointed out. "Plus, I had a head start so I really shouldn't be counted."

"And, uh, I don't think I can help anything with earth powers in a prison ship," Hunk said, holding his hand up as if in a classroom. "Everything's metal. It's not like I can metalbend anything."

"Not yet," Lance grinned confidently. "You've got earth nicely. If _The Last Airbender_ is anything to go by you're going to be metalbending soon."

"Wait, does that mean I'm technically a waterbender?" Pidge asked aloud. "That plantbender person from the swamp was bending the water in the plants, right?"

"Pidge, no, you're special! You do woods and vines and leaves, not the water in it!" Lance gasped dramatically. "I mean, you can get flowers from seeds without the dirt and water. That's awesome."

"Plus we now have our own farm!" Hunk pointed out. "No more space goo!"

"Hey, the goo is good for your health!" Coran protested, though he seemed pleased at the prospect of having their own farm as well.

"No offense, Coran, but we like Hunk's cooking better… tastes like home, somehow. And you're the best space uncle, but I'm sorry to tell you that you're not the best cook around. And… we kind of need variety because eating the same food every day is kinda…" Lance gestured vaguely.

"I don't see what's so bad about eating the same kind of food every day," Keith commented. "At least we have something to eat at all."

"Look, Keith, just because you eat the same kind of canned food all the time in that little shack of yours and can live with that doesn't mean others can do it too." Lance's response drew a squawk from Keith, but they'd known the Red Paladin enough to know that Lance's jibe had been spot on.

"That's it, as soon as the space farm is ready for harvest I'm gonna make you the best banquet ever," Hunk swore to Keith. "Just you wait, Keith. _Best. Banquet. Ever._ "

"Putting that aside," Allura spoke up, a small smile playing at her lips, "we should begin preparation. This would be similar to the prison breaks we've had before, I presume?"

"The concept should be similar, but we have Druids' magic against us so I suggest we should be more careful," Kolivan responded. "Perhaps we should play it safe and only free the most valuable prisoners, make it a quick job. Slav, any input?"

Slav hummed for a moment before answering, "Your chances aren't too great. There are too many realities in which you end up being seriously hurt."

"The risk of getting hurt is always present in any mission," Shiro said with a lift of a brow.

"There are also too many realities in which one of you are taken by the Druids."

Silence fell in the control room, dark and heavy. Slav continued on talking as if he didn't notice it. "Some even have two or more of you taken by the Druids. The realities in which you escape completely unscathed are just two, three if you are lucky."

The silence continued. Lance broke it by clicking his tongue. "Well, it wasn't like our chances with Zarkon was any better? We came out of that relatively okay. More or less. Somewhat. In a manner of speaking."

"Slav, if this succeeded, will it help us win?" Allura asked.

"In most of the realities, yes," Slav nodded.

"Then I say it's worth the risk," Allura concluded.

Hence how the team found themselves in Alpha Kaj, sneaking into the ship to free the prisoners in it. Considering that the Druids ran the ship, the group decided they should act more carefully and sneaked the prisoners off few by few instead of wreaking havoc. Letting all hell break loose meant they'd probably have to deal with drones and Druids head on, after all, and they were pretty sure battling Druids head on would leave to one sided curb stomp with them being stomped on. Keith, at least, had insisted on it, and Lance wasn't going to argue with the guy who could make the entire control room into a sauna with a single glower and melt metal with his touch.

Pidge, as usual, had hacked into the ship's mainframe and accessed the blueprints, leading the rest of the team to the prisoners, which were divided into two groups. She purposefully led them to free prisoners who could either help them or whose escape could probably delay the Galra's expansion or attack. It was hard and trying, at times, because some of the prisoners were already damaged by all the experimentation and info-squeezing the Druids had committed them into. Though, to be fair, he mission went pretty well overall.

Lance begun to feel a lump of nervousness knotting at the base of his stomach when after the fourth trip to smuggle more prisoners no hiccup had interrupted their process. Things didn't usually go this well for them. It felt foreboding.

As seconds ticked by and more prisoners were smuggled away from their cells, the feeling grew within Lance and he started to feel jittery. He tapped his fingers to his bayard, chewing on his lips and trying hard, so hard, to keep himself from doing things that could attract attention.

"Lance, you're starting to get distracting," Hunk whispered softly when Lance's tapping got more frantic.

"Sorry," Lance tightened his grips on the bayard and stiffened his fingers to stop himself from tapping, then quickly loosening them again when he realized stiff fingers would probably not help much in case of a sudden need to fire at something. "I just feel… sorry."

"Too easy?" Hunk asked with a strained smile. "Same, dude."

 _"As thrilling as this discussion is I would prefer if we could keep silent and focus on the mission,"_ Shiro's voice rang through the comm. _"This is our last trip, anyway, so let's not say anything that could distract us."_

 _"Yeah, let's not jinx ourselves,"_ Keith agreed. _"Shiro and I have gotten to the next cell, Pidge. Locks?"_

 _"Sure thing, just a sec. I'll undo the locks on Lance and Hunk's end too, so you can all get to the pods pretty much at the same time."_ There was a beep from the comm link, and after a bit they could hear Pidge's triumphant, almost silent _yes_. _"Alright, locks are now not functional and the doors to the cells I'm directing you to will open at the lightest push of your fingers."_

 _"Thanks, Pidge,"_ Shiro said, a hint of pride in his voice. Lance smiled, liking the fact that they had Shiro back after being separated for so long. Missions always felt better, more focused and somehow easier with him around.

Hunk gestured to Lance to move quicker, and he nodded. They followed the path Pidge had sent to them and quickly made their way to the cell in question. Inside which was an alien lady with long, long silvery hair with streaks of gold that cascaded down to the floor, tips a strikingly contrasting black. She wore her hair like a robe around her, pulling the strands around her shoulders like cloth with which she fought away the cold as she curled into a ball. She looked humanoid for the most part, though her skin was a shade of ivory white that made her look like a statue. Her lips were gold, her nose pointed and long, and she had four pointy ears instead of two. She had three eyes, though, two in the upper part of her face much like any humans would have their eyes and one standing vertically at the very center of her forehead. The two were a shade of silver-grey, while the single eye glowed an ethereal gold.

"Paladins," she greeted, her voice husky and lilting as though she was half asleep, "I have been waiting."

That gave Hunk a pause. "Uh, you have?"

She pulled her lips into a smile. "My people have always had the ability to see the future. Snippets, broken vision that no one could comprehend. For some reason, my vision has always been more coherent and easily understood. That is why the Galra took me." She gave a bow. "I thank you for coming and rescuing me, Paladins. I am Pythia of Castal. We Castalians have foreseen the coming of the defenders for so long. It is an honor to finally meet you."

"Pleasure is all ours, milady," Lance returned the bow gracefully and offered his hand. "We're in a tight schedule, though, so I suggest we move quickly. Shall we?"

Pythia nodded and reached out, revealing seemingly unnatural long fingers that reminded Lance of long, leafless twigs in the middle of winter. The skin on her hands were deep, sleek black instead of the flawless milky white her arms and face were, and a glance to the floor revealed that her feet were also black, and her toes, too, were unnaturally long. She pushed herself upright and she immediately towered above both Lance and Hunk, and Lance knew instantly that she'd be taller than most Galra around. Overall, she looked like a girl version of Slenderman, except she actually had a face and looked more ethereal than creepy. So perhaps some kind of fae?

Then she suddenly jerked back and pulled her hand away from Lance's, the single golden eye flashing brightly for a tick. She blinked a few times – all three of her eyes – and stared at Lance intently. "Ah."

"What? What is it? Why did your eye shine? Was that normal?" Hunk stared at Pythia, worry in his eyes and slight panic in his voice.

"It happens when Castalians receive a vision," Pythia answered, still staring at Lance.

Lance chuckled nervously. "I hope that was a vision of me sipping margarita by a pool surrounded by pretty ladies such as yourself," he joked, only half hoping that his guess was somewhat true. The way Pythia stared at him made him think otherwise, but a guy can dream.

Her face contorted in… was it pity? She reached out and took his hand again, enveloping it in her long fingers gently. Her golden eye shimmered softly. When she spoke next, her voice was heavy, and she sounded truly awake for the first time. "Child of ocean and ice, you shall abandon your hope. You shall cast away your precious ones and you shall be alone. But fear not, for what was once lost may yet be regained."

Lance stared.

Hunk coughed. "That sounded… ominous."

"Why would I cast away my precious one?" Lance asked.

"I do not know," Pythia answered, back to sounding half asleep again. "My vision is often disjointed, though much less so compared to the rest of my people."

"Anyway, we really should move," Hunk nudged them. "Can't waste time here. We need to get out, like, ASAP."

"Right," Lance straightened and grasped Pythia's hands that still held his. "Come on, it's this way. Keep yourself as quiet as you can. We need to move quickly."

The tall alien lady nodded and followed, surprisingly silent despite her size. Her hair trailed behind her like silk, and Lance wondered briefly what kind of haircare aliens used. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

They soon reached the hangar, meeting up with the rest of the team. Standing with Shiro and Keith was a tiny alien dude, only reaching up to Shiro's waist in height. His skin was an interesting shade of algae green, and his cat-like eyes looked around the room warily. Behind them was a pod, inside which several other freed prisoners huddled together.

Keith motioned to them, clearly wanting them to move quicker. They complied.

They were only three paces closer when purple lightning bolt struck the floor between their feet, though. Lance whirled around in alarm, raising his bayard and started shooting at the oncoming Druids.

"Fuck," Keith cursed, generating heat in response to the sudden worsening of the situation enough to make the room suddenly feel stuffy. It was most likely unintentional, given that he didn't have good control over his powers yet.

"Dude, mind the heat," Lance protested as he put his hand up and twirled his finger, making a light snowfall to neutralize the temperature. Keith muttered a quick apology as he activated his bayard.

"Paladins, up front!" Shiro yelled, flesh arm gripping inactive bayard while the other arm glowed Galra purple. "The rest, go inside the pod. We'll cover you."

The freed prisoners didn't need to be told twice. Pythia snatched the green alien up, ignoring his surprised, indignant squawk and rushed into the pod, leaving the door open to wait for the Paladins.

The Paladins quickly got to work, but to say the battle was frustrating would be severely underplaying it. Each and every time they struck – each and every time they _knew_ their strike would hit – the Druids would poof away and rematerialize elsewhere, suddenly throwing purple lightning strikes at them. Soon, it became clear that their chances to actually defeat the Druids was pretty much a zero.

Shiro gritted his teeth, glancing at the still open pod. The Druids were strong and they were slowly being pushed back – closer to the pod, but sooner or later the Druids would take back the prisoners and would probably jail the five of them for good measure. Even better, they'd probably continue the messed up experiment they did to Shiro and did the same for the rest of them.

"You people back there, close the pod!" Shiro yelled to the freed prisoners. "Go to the white ship waiting outside. You'll be safe there." He turned to the other Paladins. "You go with them."

"What? No!" Keith protested immediately. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Shiro, we just got you back! We're not going to just _leave_!" Pidge added.

"We'll fight these Druids and escape together, Shiro," Hunk grunted through gritted teeth while sending blasts after blasts to the Druids that never connected.

Lance's eyes darted around, looking at how his fellow Paladins struggled so against the enemies, how the Druids easily avoided their relentless attacks without effort, how the prisoners waited, staring in frozen fear.

All of them but one.

His gaze connected to Pythia's, and for the briefest moment her golden eye twinkled and Lance instantly remembered her seemingly ominous message. She stared at him without words, simply waiting for him to make his decision. It didn't take long.

"Pythia, close the pod, now!" Lance yelled, and Pythia nodded. Before his mouth even closed, Lance's eyes glowed ethereal blue as he called forth the power of the ocean and glacier to his fingertips. With a single slash, he raised a wall of ice that separated the Druids from them. He didn't know if it would actually stop those pesky space dark magic practitioners, but he could at least try.

The ice chipped and cracked immediately. Okay, so he probably couldn't guarantee their safety. Fine. He'd hold them back somehow, even at the cost of himself.

"Lance? What are you doing?" Shiro asked, trepidation in his voice.

Lance met his eyes. Met the eyes of each and every member of his team. "Please be safe," he said, a little breathlessly.

"Lance – "

Shiro didn't get to finish his sentence. Lance had raised a tidal wave that immediately washed them away, pushing them into the pod just before it closed. Lance watched through the dissipating water and the glass of the pod, making sure they were safe and sound, if a bit wet and coughing and hacking from swallowing a mouthful or two of water that he pushed to them.

Behind him, the ice cracked more, ominously. Absently, Lance willed it to last longer.

Hunk launched himself to the now closed pod door, glaring at him and yelling something he couldn't hear. Lance smiled weakly at him, which spurred him to punch the glass.

The ice wall behind him broke, falling into thousands of tiny pieces. An attack hit him squarely in the back, making him grunt and fall to his knees. He didn't break his gaze to the now retreating pod, however, staring at how Keith pushed Hunk a little so he could press his palms at the glass, staring wide-eyed at Lance. The taller boy sent him a smirk that immediately turned into a grimace when another attack hit him. Lance launched needles of ice and slaps of ocean wave blindly, hearing a Druid grunt behind him and more rushing forward.

As the Druids surrounded him, Lance watched Keith pound at the glass, fire blazing across his back – orange and red and angry and desperate. _So this is what finally enables him to make fire_ , Lance absently thought as Druids began to crowd around him. He forced himself to smile as he watched the pod moved, away, out, as his teammates watched in horror while he was overpowered by the Druids despite the ice that he threw at them.

Let him be overpowered. Let the Druids take him. He didn't particularly care as long as his friends were safe.

As the hangar gate closed, pod safely out, Lance ceased all effort to keep the Druids back. A pair of metal bracelets immediately circled his wrists, keeping them locked behind his back, and Lance instantly felt his ability to summon water and ice being sealed away. So, a kind of space handcuffs that kept him from fighting in more ways than one. That was just great.

The Druids pulled him to his feet. Lance flashed them the biggest smile he could pull.

* * *

A/N: At first I planned to make this a huge one-shot like the Seas-Stream-Rain one, but then I saw the word count and kind of just backed away from that plan. Seas-Stream-Rain worked as a huge one-shot because it flows nicely and cutting it up into several parts makes it weird. This one works better as chaptered fic, so I'll make this into four-part fic instead. The next chapter will be uploaded in a few days.

Pythia's name and planet name came from Greek myth, specifically about the Oracle of Delphi. The oracle was referred to as Pythia, and it is said that the oracles of Delphi draw their power from a fountain called Castalia (which apparently used to be a nymph). Hence, Pythia of Castal, who can see into the future even if fragmented.

Hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!


	2. The Corruption

Chapter Two: The Corruption

"I can't believe he did that."

Hunk laughed darkly at Keith's words. "Keith, this is Lance we're talking about."

Keith took a deep breath. "Yeah… I guess I shouldn't be this surprised."

"Nevertheless, we need to get him back," Shiro growled. "We need to get him as soon as we can. The Druids won't treat him as a royal guest. They'll tear him apart."

"We need to plan this carefully, though," Pidge interjected quickly. "Alpha Kaj isn't something that we can easily get to. Plus there's no way it still hung around in Neba galaxy. It must have moved somewhere else."

Shiro closed his eyes. "I know," he whispered, voice broken.

Allura watched alongside Coran, silent and still, wondering what exactly they were supposed to do. Once again they were robbed of one precious member, and once again they weren't sure how exactly they could regain him. Allura sighed, pursing her lips in contemplation. Lance was never her favorite. He was far too loud, too obnoxious, his tendency to throw pickup lines twenty times a day too annoying, but he was also an irreplaceable member of Voltron. He was also a Paladin, whose traits had kept them going.

He was also family.

Allura straightened up and took a deep breath, turning to greet the freed prisoners. She plastered a smile and opened her mouth to speak, but she was beaten to it.

"My lady," greeted a tall, three-eyed lady with hair that could rival the most exquisite curtain, "I am Pythia of Castal. May I speak to you of your missing pilot?"

"I – " Allura blinked. "Of course."

Pythia kneeled in front of her, seemingly only so Allura didn't need to crane her neck up so keep eye contact. "My lady. The people of Castal have always been able to foresee the future, however briefly or vaguely. With enough willpower, we can access this vision as we wish, though the result we get would be far too fragmented. However, I have reasons to believe that your lost paladin would be retrieved safely, more likely sooner rather than later."

A knot of tension Allura didn't realize even existed eased slowly in her stomach. She had heard of the Castallians, their predictions, and their unnerving accuracy. Allura smiled. "Thank you very much, Pythia of Castal. Your information is greatly appreciated."

Pythia's gaze turned solemn. "I must say that it most likely would be a difficult battle, though."

Allura instantly mirrored Pythia's expression. "I know."

"The bond!" a sudden shout from Pidge drew Allura's attention. "We could use Blue's bond with Lance to track where he is!"

Allura stared at her quizzically. "Can you not use the bonds between Paladins to do it instead? It would be much faster and easier than using the bond between the blue lion and him, since you cannot understand the blue lion as well as you do your own lions."

Pidge shook her head. "I'm not sure it's strong enough to track with. We can barely feel one another during training, much less through… I don't know, solar systems?"

"Yeah, even I don't sense him all that well," Hunk agreed. "But Lance's bond with Blue, on the other hand, is really strong. We should be able to track him through Blue."

"Alright then," Shiro spoke up. "Let's go to Blue's hangar. We'll work there."

* * *

"If this is your equivalent of suite hotel room," Lance began, "then I must say that I am _severely_ disappointed."

The Druid that had strapped him to the bed he was on peered at him, head tilted aside as though curious.

"Oh, did you know?" Lance said to him conversationally. "There's like, a classification for hotel rooms on Earth. Standard, deluxe, junior suite, and suite. Standard is just, well, standard, while suite is like the most wow of all rooms. I wouldn't know because I've never stayed in a suite room, but I heard it's great."

The Druid nodded and looked away.

"You talk much for someone who has just been captured. Don't you realize what would happen to you?"

Lance turned to the door, where a tall, long haired Galra who looked way prettier than any Galra Lance had laid his eyes on strolled to him casually. He grinned. "Hey, I'm sure these guys appreciate it. I wouldn't want to be your typical silent, cowering prisoner and bore you out of your mind."

The pretty Galra smiled. "I have heard that the Blue Paladin has ways with his words, but I never thought he would be this entertaining. I am Prince Lotor, Emperor Zarkon's son. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

 _Oh shit_. Suddenly the pretty Galra didn't seem so pretty anymore. Lance let a smile bloom in his face. "Oh, heeey. Nice to meet you too. The name's Lance. Uh, how's your dad?"

Lotor chuckled darkly. "Comatose. Doesn't seem like he'll wake up anytime soon."

Lance cringed. That was awkward. "Ah. Um, sorry to hear that?"

"I'm sure you are, considering that it's you and your friends who made him this way."

A laugh, high pitched and nervous, escaped Lance's lips. "Yeah, well. About that."

Lotor stared and gave a small smile. "Never mind that. Anyway, I'm here to give you an offer."

"I don't know if I'd like this but go on and explain?"

"Before that." Lotor held up a finger and turned to the door, calling, "Come in now, Haggar."

Lance felt his fingers growing cold when the door opened again and the familiar, hunching figure of the Head Witch of Galra Empire walked in. She stared at him for a moment before turning to Lotor. "Sire?"

"I have to agree with you, Haggar," the prince told the witch. "He _is_ as interesting as you made it seem to be. He's got quite a mouth, too."

"I am here, I heard that, I'll take that as a compliment," Lance interjected.

Lotor gestured. "See?"

"He is certainly not your average prisoner, Sire." Haggar sounded unimpressed. "I do believe he could be good for the empire, however."

Lance stared. "Excuse me, what."

Lotor threw him a brilliant smile that somehow made Lance feel sick to his stomach. "Well, about that offer I talked about earlier. Simply put, I want you to join the empire."

An eyebrow shot up. " _What_."

"You are good with words, that's what I'm looking for," Lotor explained. "As I'm sure you've seen, our soldiers aren't good talkers. I'm not that good either, to be completely honest, but I think you're more than good enough. You have ways to… connect with people, make them like you, unlike most if not all Galra around, and I believe that could be very influential. Dangerous, even. Join the empire, Blue Paladin, and help me convince others to join us as well. The Galra Empire could bring prosperity for the entire universe if only people agree to join us."

"You want me to sweet talk people to surrendering their planets to Galra?" the brow lifted up again.

"Well, it's either you join us willingly or be our power by surrendering your quintessence and let Haggar do whatever she needs and wants to do with you," Lotor told him, almost nonchalant. "She thinks your ability to control water and ice is very interesting. And able to heal, too? _Fascinating_. I also think your ability is very interesting, Lance. It's another reason why I wish you could join us."

Lance forced a smile that came out more of a grimace. "That's a very generous offer, but I'm good, thanks. I'll stay with my current team."

Lotor stared in disapproval. "You do realize that you're fighting a losing battle, don't you? My forces far outnumber yours."

"That's true, but I like my friends better than yours," Lance shrugged. "So it's a no. Don't push it, Prince. My answer won't change no matter what."

"I see." Lotor straightened, suddenly looking distant. What little warmth he'd shown to Lance vanished with no trace. "I'm sorry that we do not see eye to eye, Paladin."

"Well, you and me both, buddy." Lance shrugged again.

Lotor spared him a small smirk and turned to Haggar. "He's all yours. Do whatever you need to do."

"Of course, Sire." Haggar's eyes followed as Lotor exited the room. As soon as he was out, she turned her full, undivided attention at Lance. "Blue Paladin."

Lance gulped. Haggar was still as _nope_ as he last remembered her. "Why, hello there Haggar, beautiful as always, I see. Listen, I'm sorry I trapped you in ice. I was upset and reckless and didn't think through my actions." Shit, he was babbling. He needed to stop babbling.

Haggar circled his bed, staring like someone who was considering buying some kind of goods. She didn't acknowledge his words. He wasn't sure if that was good or not. He gulped and stopped talking, choosing to warily eye the space witch instead.

"I had considered coming after you, Paladin," she spoke lowly, partly to herself. "I have found your ability to control water and ice intriguing. Druids are able to use magic, but not the elements. What makes you able to wield them? What is different? Are you able to use basic Druid magic?"

Lance stared. "Uh. Can you tell me what you were saying again? In simple sentences, if you please? 'Cause I have no idea what you're talking about."

Haggar ignored him. She lifted her hand and reached to him, and he froze in panic. Nowhere to run, nowhere to move. He tried to squirm away, but her hand reached him anyway, gripping him tight in the arm. He couldn't shake her off considering how he was bound, so he resolved to glare at her while enduring her completely unwelcome touch.

Her fingers sparked purple, but no lighting came to electrify Lance. He glanced quizzically at her hand, then back at her face, and gasped.

He could feel something deep beneath, crawling and wriggling and gnawing deep into his being. It was gross, disgusting, _repulsive_. It felt like the thing was trying to take over and turn him into something else entirely, changing his bright blue into something murky and muddy and unrecognizable. The crawling was deeper than his skin, deeper than his flesh, deeper than his bones – it felt like it was trying to reach his very soul. He choked on a sob as his eyes began to water, and he wished it would just _go away, leave, leave, leave, I don't want you here._

Then, as soon as it came, it retracted into itself and vanished completely. Lance gasped again, gulping in ragged breath after ragged breath, relieved to know _it_ was gone but still shaken and confused by the whole ordeal.

"How curious," Haggar mused, and Lance jolted. "You could manipulate your own quintessence and control a powerful element, yet you don't know how to cleanse your own core."

Lance took a deep breath. "Lady, I have zero idea what you're talking about right now," he told her, cursing inwardly at the tremor in his voice.

Haggar pulled her hand away from Lance. She turned to the Druid that had been standing still, keeping watch, by the bed all this while. "Prepare the equipment. We shall study his bond with the lion, see if it has anything to do with how he uses his power. Locate the rest of his comrades, too, while you're at it; I'd prefer to get back my Champion as well."

Lance's eyes widened. Haggar wanted to study his bond with Blue. Haggar could locate his friends through Blue. Haggar could potentially get Shiro back again.

His heart pounded loudly against his chest. When he let himself get captured, he completely forgot about the bond he had with Blue. Small hope bloomed in his chest – _they can trace me, they can get me, they can save me_ – but as soon as it came it was squashed. He couldn't rely on the bond to let his friends get him. Haggar would be expecting that; it would be the same as presenting themselves on a silver platter. They couldn't do that.

But him being here meant Haggar could use his bond to locate Blue, and therefore his friends. He didn't know how, or if that was possible at all – he didn't know Haggar, for all he knew she could just be bluffing.

He wasn't willing to take that chance, though. He couldn't let his friends be captured.

His resolve hardened, as sure as ice forming in sub-zero atmosphere. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reached deep within, grasping at his bond with Blue. It felt weak, stretched by distance. Alongside it was the bonds he had with other Paladins, far weaker than the bond he had with Blue, but present nonetheless. He dove into his connection with Blue.

 _My Paladin?_ Blue's voice was so faint, so distant. They were too far apart, but effort from both their ends fueled by desperation allowed words to travel through.

 _Blue,_ Lance bit his lip. _Blue, they're going to use me. They're going to use our bond to find you. Haggar wants Shiro back._

 _My Paladin, please, fear not,_ Blue's voice grew slightly stronger. It was laced with forced calm. _Paladins of Black, Green, Red, and Yellow are trying to locate you._

Panic rose within him. _No, no, Blue, they can't! They can't do that! Haggar would be monitoring the bond, she'll know. I can't let them come when we're still connected, Blue; you, me, all the other Paladins. If the bond isn't there, if Haggar can't see them coming, they'd have better chance at attacking._

 _My Paladin,_ Blue began warily, agitated, _what are you planning to do?_

 _I'm the only link that could be misused, Blue,_ he explained. _If the bond is gone, then…_

 _My Paladin, no. Please, don't._

 _I can't let them get to you, Blue. I can't let them get my friends. My_ family _._

 _Paladin –_

 _I'm sorry, beautiful. Be safe._

 _Lance – !_

Lance gripped his bonds – with Blue, with the Paladins – and, before he could stop himself out of fear, before Haggar realized what he was doing and stopped him, stretched the already stretched thin bonds and let them snap.

The effect was instantaneous. Blue's voice was abruptly cut off, and he received a quick but powerful surge of despair, fear, and anger all mixed into one through the tattered remains of Blue's bond before it was gone. Through the bonds with the other Paladins, he got faint feelings of shock, then confusion, then dread before they, too, faded and was gone completely. He felt hollow somehow, the cavity the bonds left mocked him through the proverbial gaping hole in his chest, the dangling threads that once conveyed feelings of reassurance, of warmth, of affection, mockingly sent only cold nothingness.

Through it all, he heard a distant noise that he soon recognized as screaming. It took him a moment longer to realize that it was him who was screaming, and that he was crying. As it turned out, ripping away bonds with a giant robot lion and important people in one's life was a big deal. Who knew.

When the screaming stopped, he realized that Haggar was glaring at him hatefully, panting slightly. The guard Druid inched away from her. Were her cheeks red? Had she been screaming, too?

"How dare you," Haggar hissed. "How _dare_ you!"

Lance stared at her through vision blurred by tears, confused, before he realized what she meant. It hit him like bricks, and before he could stop himself he let loose a bark of laugh. "What? Is it that bad that I don't have my bonds anymore?"

Haggar gritted her teeth. "I will make sure you suffer, Paladin."

Lance couldn't help it. He laughed, loud and hysterical, unable to rein it in even as his whole body shook and his stomach ached from the force of it all. With the laugh came the tears, and before long the laugh was interlaced with sobs and hiccups.

Lance let himself laugh and cry without restraint, bracing himself to the coming pain. From now on, he was all alone.

* * *

Coran watched as the remaining Paladins worked in Blue Lion's hangar, trying hard to use the bond between Paladin and Lion to track Lance.

Or, well, some of them worked. Shiro stared at the monitor of Pidge's computer, where the young girl typed as fast as she was able to, spouting line after line of codes in hope of getting their teammate back. Keith was pacing back and forth, gripping the Marmorra dagger and using it to cut through the air every once in a while as he tried to work out his agitation. Hunk, on the other hand, had long since abandoned the post and went to the kitchen to bake some cookies after knowing that at the moment there was nothing he could tinker with so he could tamp down his frustration. No tool that needed to be made, no hardware that needed to be rewired. Nothing a mechanic could do.

"Pidge, status report," Shiro requested.

"I'm getting close to translating the bond into binary codes, but we'll have to figure out how to make sense of it all later," Pidge answered monotonously, too absorbed in her work to answer otherwise.

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Pidge," Keith told her.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, now shut up and let me work." Despite the dismissive tone, Pidge's fingers flew even faster.

Coran glanced at Allura, who was standing by him. She returned his glance with her own worried one, and he knew instantly that his gaze mirrored hers.

Each and every Paladin of Voltron was important, and they all contributed to keep the team balanced and strong. Lance, however, was invaluable in how he kept the team going no matter the circumstances. If he hadn't been there when Shiro was gone there was no doubt that the team would fall apart. Now that he was the one actually missing, Coran wasn't sure how the team – the princess and himself included – would fare.

"Hey, guys." A voice from the doorway caught Coran's attention, and in came Hunk holding a large bowl of cookies.

"Hunk," Allura greeted. "Have you calmed down a little?"

"Yeah, baking's always helped me do that," Hunk answered with a grin, though it wasn't as easy as usual. "I made way too much, though. I have the usual green goo cookies, and the peanut butter cookies, also this space blue choco chips cookies, and basic vanilla butter cookies." He stared at the 'vanilla butter' cookies. "Except the vanilla ones turned out to be neon yellow instead. Hm."

"Soon as I'm done with this I'm gonna need the peanut butter ones to refuel," Pidge announced, still typing.

"I'll save some for you," Hunk promised. "Now does anyone else have special requests? Because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna eat like half of these on my own so if you want to call dibs on them – "

Several things happened at once, then.

The Blue Lion, which had been sitting completely still all this time, came online all of a sudden and let out a deafening roar, eyes lighting up bright yellow. It immediately paced frantically, swiping and clawing at the hangar walls, still roaring. There was an undercurrent of grief and despair within its voice.

Hunk stopped talking abruptly, eyes growing wide before rolling into the back of his head without warning as he swayed and fell back, bowl of cookies forgotten at once. It immediately activated its anti-gravity feature and floated nicely on thin air, but Hunk didn't have the same advantage. Coran dove to catch him before he hit the floor, managing to do it just barely. He ended up cushioning his fall with a loud _oomph_.

Keith, who was still pacing around, gasped aloud. The Marmorra blade slipped from his fingers and clanged loudly against the floor. He fell on his butt, sitting without moving while staring at nothing. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked… disconnected, somehow. Disjointed, and unsure how to deal with it.

Pidge stopped her rapid-fire typing so suddenly that the absence of constant noise was jarring. Instead of typing, Pidge had resigned to gripping her laptop so tightly that Coran was surprised he didn't hear it crack. She heaved heavily before curling into herself and started screaming wordlessly into her computer.

Shiro had frozen for a moment, eyes wide and unseeing as terror flashed within the depths of his gaze. His Galra arm suddenly lit up a bright purple, brightest Coran had ever seen it. He launched to his feet, losing his footing immediately and falling again, and he squirmed backwards, eyes darting around as though trying to locate a threat. His unseeing gaze found Allura, the only one who was still standing upright, and he cried loudly as he launched forward to her, ready to slice her to pieces. Thankfully, Allura reacted quickly. She caught his flesh hand and quickly pinned him down as gently as she could, whispering soothing words in an attempt to bring him back to reality. It didn't seem to work, as Shiro instead struggled against her, tears of fear and anger gathering in his eyes, shouting loudly and telling Allura to let go.

"What's going on here?" Coran asked aloud, baffled, perhaps a little bit scared. First Lance was gone, and now the rest of the Paladins suddenly ceased to function and the lion Lance piloted acted up? It didn't seem right.

Soon, things began to calm down a little. The Blue Lion stopped wailing and pawing the walls, slowly folding into itself and laying down on the floor. The yellow light of its eyes died as a particle barrier was raised, cutting itself off from the outside world. Pidge's screams had stopped, replaced by choked, broken sobs that squeezed Coran's heart until it was nothing but a bleeding mess. Shiro's loud order to be let go had turned into a soft request that Allura soon granted. He finally seemed himself again, though he still struggled to keep his arm under control.

"Coran…"

Coran's attention snapped to Hunk. The young man reached and gripped his sleeve, eyes moist. "Coran, it's gone. What do I do? I can't feel Lance anymore."

Coran felt cold immediately. "What do you mean, Hunk? What's gone?"

The tears escaped Hunk's eyes. "The bond! The Paladin bond, the one that connects me with Lance. It's gone, Coran. It snapped."

Coran opened his mouth to speak but found no words. He closed it again as he stared at Hunk in speechless shock. The Paladin bond, snapped? Had it ever happened before? Was it even _possible_?

Hunk took a look at Coran's flabbergasted face and laughed grimly. "You don't know what to do either, do you, Coran? Oh man. This is hopeless." Tear fell like waterfalls down his cheeks. "We don't know what to do. Lance's gone. Lance's gone. Lance's gone…"

"Hunk, please, calm yourself," Coran gripped Hunk's hand. "It's true that this has never happened before, so I have no idea what will happen to Lance, but right now our first priority is finding Lance."

"But the bond snapped, Coran," Hunk argued. "Doesn't that mean he's gone? Permanently? Like, d-dead?" Hunk sniffed.

 _Ah_. So this was why the Paladins were so distressed. Coran squeezed Hunk's hand. "Hunk, I don't think Lance is dead."

That stopped Hunk's tears. Suddenly, all Paladins' attention was on Coran. He steeled his gaze.

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked, voice small.

"When a paladin dies," Coran ignored how Hunk flinched at his choice of words, "the bond they have with other paladins don't snap. They fade, little by little until not even a remnant of it is left, but while fading the bond is still there. It just doesn't feel of anything. Is that how it feels like, Hunk?"

"…no," Hunk answered after a moment of contemplation. "It just… snapped. It feels like it's… dangling? Like it's trying to reconnect somehow, but someone is actively holding it back?" Hunk looked at him. "Does this mean Lance is doing this?"

"I don't know, Hunk. This has never happened before." Coran sighed. "But I'm sure Lance is not dead. How he is now, though, is another matter entirely. Which is why we need to get him back. If not through the bond, then through some other methods."

"We can get Slav to help," Shiro wheezed through gritted teeth. He groaned, Galra hand clenched as the purple light finally dimmed. "If he can see all realities, then he can give us pointers where Lance is."

"Pythia says she can see the future, even if just snippets," Hunk added. He pulled himself up, sitting up instead of slumping against Coran. "We can ask her to help, too. I'm sure she can work with Slav."

"Blade of Marmorra," Keith's voice was soft, if a little hoarse. "They got intel of where Alpha Kaj was. They can do it again."

Allura nodded. "Well, then. Let's relocate to the control deck, where it will be easier to arrange it all. Shiro, please go get Slav once you've had your arm under control. Hunk, go to Pythia. She told me earlier to find her in the star map room if we need her." She stood up and turned, placing her hand on Blue Lion's particle barrier. "We will find your paladin," she vowed solemnly. "This I swear to you."

Hunk rubbed his eyes and slapped his cheeks with both his hands. "I'll go clean up for a bit. Then I'll go get Pythia." He stood up and began to walk. "Thanks, Coran."

"Anytime, Hunk."

"I should go too," Keith, too, stood and followed Hunk out.

"I'll go to Slav," Shiro added, following the other two. His hand had dimmed even more, though it hadn't deactivated yet. Coran was sure it would soon. Shiro had always had good control over it, and he'd regain it soon.

Pidge was the only one who hadn't moved or spoken. She had stopped sobbing, though she was still sniffling. Coran glanced to Allura, who met his gaze. She nodded and left the room quietly.

Coran moved, sliding to a crouch by Pidge. "Number five? Pidge, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm okay," Pidge croaked. Coran couldn't see her face because she was still curled, still gripping at her laptop. "I just need a moment."

Slowly, Coran reached and touched Pidge hands. She jolted at the touch, but didn't recoil. He pried the laptop off her hands and set it aside. "Pidge? Will you look at me?"

She sniffed and slowly looked up. Her eyes were red, and tears fell still down her cheeks. Snot peeked through her nostrils. She sniffed again.

Coran took a handkerchief and gave it to Pidge. She took it wordlessly and wiped her eyes and nose.

"Do you want to talk?" Coran offered.

Pidge was silent for a moment before she finally spoke up. "I just… am I cursed?"

Coran blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"This is kind of selfish of me considering what's currently happening, but I can't help but feel like I'm cursed or something," Pidge sighed. "Everyone around me just… goes. One way or another, one by one. First it was Dad and Matt, then Shiro, and now Lance. I feel like me being around people puts them in danger." Her hands curled into fists. "Even _I_ disappear from my mom's life. What kind of kid does that to her own mom? She didn't know I was gone. She probably thought I was dead. She probably thought she's the only one left in our family." She hunched forward and sniffed wetly. "I'm a terrible daughter."

Coran's heart sank. "Pidge… it's not your fault."

"I know," Pidge sighed. "Logically, I know it's not. Me and Lance and Hunk and Shiro and Keith being whisked up by a giant robot cat is no one's fault. It's kind of a blessing, actually, since now I have opportunity to look for Dad and Matt. But I can't help but feel guilty that I left mom alone. And I can't help but think that I could have done something to prevent Lance being captured."

Coran stared. "Was there anything you could have done?"

There was another moment of silence. "Probably not," Pidge admitted at last, not sounding happy about it. "The Druids were too fast. Nothing could hit them, not even Lance's shots." She rubbed her face with both her hands. "Ugh. I guess I just have to get him back myself, huh? Then I'll get my dad and Matt. Somehow."

"Then you can all go back home to meet your mother," Coran agreed, smiling warmly even though his heart ached still.

Pidge smiled. "I mean I'll probably have to go back here if anything happen again, but for now… for now that's good enough." She nodded. "Yeah. That's good enough."

Coran's smile widened. He circled his arm around Pidge's shoulders before squeezing softly and letting go. "Come on, Pidge. Let's get Lance back."

Pidge nodded. "Yeah." She got to her feet and pulled Coran up before gathering her things in her hands. "Thanks, Coran. Lance is right; you're the best space uncle ever."

Coran laughed aloud. "I sure hope I am, though I'm sure you don't have another space uncle." He grinned at Pidge. "Does that make Lance your space big brother?"

Pidge groaned. "The worst bro ever… we have to go clean up his mess all the time." She straightened up and turned serious at once. "Still a space bro, though. So yeah, let's go."

* * *

The thing about quintessence was that you don't know how truly important it was to you until yours had been poked, gauged, and stretched so thin you feel like you've run three decathlons nonstop without any break whatsoever.

Well, Lance certainly knew now. The Druids and the head witch Haggar hadn't spared him any of the details. By poking, gauging, and stretching Lance's quintessence so thin he felt like he'd run three decathlons without any break. Honestly, Lance had never exhausted his quintessence like this before, and he wasn't sure what would happen if he ran out – or worse – which was totally a possibility given how Haggar treated him.

Lance didn't really want to find out.

He knew he was about to anyway.

"I don't understand," Haggar muttered to herself as she circled Lance's bed. "There doesn't seem to be anything different in your quintessence. Why are you able to do what you do? Why can't the Druids?"

Lance laughed breathlessly. "You know, I was just asking the same thing. What about you put me off this rickety thing and we can discuss and theorize over a cup of tea? No?"

Haggar glared. "If you hadn't snapped your bond this would have been much easier to do."

Lance gulped. "Well, I guess we're both stuck then."

Truth to be told, not really. Lance could feel the snapped bonds, how they desperately try to latch and reform again. He could feel how the Paladin bonds searched and tried to reconnect the little strands back until tattered threads could recreate ribbons once more. Lance had to actively stop them from getting to close to his end of tattered remains just so they couldn't repair themselves. He still couldn't let that happen. Not with Haggar still around. Not even if she wasn't around.

Blue's bond stayed silent and dormant, however. Even when Lance tentatively poked at it, nothing went through. It made him worried. A part of him childishly felt abandoned.

How stupid. It was him who broke the bond in the first place. If anything, it was him who abandoned Blue.

He sighed. Just how long had it been? He wasn't sure if he could trust his sense of time. It felt like weeks, but he couldn't be sure. Mealtimes were sporadic, seemingly only given when he's already starved or exhausted. And he got starved or exhausted often due to the poking and gauging thing.

Which, he now realized, he probably should be worried about. It seemed that Haggar had decided that his quintessence wasn't much different from Druids'. She'd probably switch methods to poke and gauge at him now.

His suspicion was proven correct when Haggar approached him with electricity brimming in her hand. Before, only the Druids came to work with him, and only with needles and cables. They drew his quintessence out, studying it under several different magically controlled environments. To be honest, Lance didn't know what exactly they were doing with it or even how they could draw someone's quintessence out, but they did it. The only good thing Lance got from it all was that his quintessence apparently behaved like liquid and could spread frost and froze things in a moment's notice.

Usually, Haggar only watched. The fact that she came to him personally was more than enough to make Lance feel even more uneasy than usual. The way her hand sparked menacingly certainly didn't help matters.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Lance asked when Haggar stood by his bed.

She didn't respond. Instead, she placed her hand on his chest, and Lance grimaced, readying himself for pain. The electricity in Haggar's hand sparked before sinking into Lance's chest.

"If we cannot find out what makes you different," Haggar began, "we will simply make you ours."

"What – "

"Even if we cannot have our Champion back, we will make a better weapon."

The surprisingly familiar and entirely unwelcome feeling of something crawling within him overpowered Lance immediately. He choked on a gasp as the same disgusting, _disgusting_ thing dug deep into him, reaching ever deeper and leaving trails of repulsive darkness. He immediately remembered the time when Haggar did the same thing before, rummaging in his very self and shaking him deeply before retreating immediately.

That time, it was experimental. It was sniffing out a new field, curiously poking before retreating without leaving anything. This time, it was different. It was soldiers marching into battleground, it was mercenary with a mission, a bird of prey diving for the kill. It was darker and stronger, intent, focused. No matter how much Lance willed it to go away, how much he wished it would vanish, he knew it wouldn't.

Or perhaps it could, if only he was a bit stronger. Pity all those experiments he'd gone through had made him too exhausted to put up a fight when it was actually needed.

The dark reached his core. Bright blue was soon stained, stirred up and tainted. Lance let out a scream before he could stop himself, begging the dark to _get out, get out, get out_ , but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make it go away.

Lance looked up at Haggar. She was the one doing this, _still_ doing this. Her hand didn't budge from his chest even as he writhed around in fruitless attempt to get the darkness out. He gulped as tears began to gather in his eyes. "Stop this," he begged, not really caring about preserving his own pride. At this point he'd do anything as long as he could get away from the disgusting feeling of crawling and gnawing that was threatening to change his very soul.

Haggar simply returned his gaze calmly. "Serve the empire well, Ice Mage."

The remaining bright blue within himself flashed before it was devoured. His original color was gone, too tainted to be recognized. Ugly, muddy shade of its former self began flaring its power. As Lance's tears fell, coldness began to spread and numb his fingers. His tears froze.

Haggar lifted up her hand. Lance drowned in the darkness of his own tainted core.

* * *

A/N: The part about Lance cutting off the bond and being corrupted is one of the reasons why this fic exists at all, actually. Those are the first scenes that came to mind when I pictured this story, and when I imagined them they were so vivid I put them in with minimal editing. I hope the writing's good though.

Next chapter will be up in a few days. Hope you have a great day!


	3. The Rescue

Chapter Three: The Rescue

While it wasn't as long as the time Shiro was gone, Keith felt Lance was still gone too long. Three weeks too long.

It took some time, but they were finally able to gather enough information and manpower to infiltrate Alpha Kaj again. Apparently, it hadn't moved much for a while, and for the first time in perhaps forever it asked for Galra soldiers and drones reinforcement, no longer manned only by Druids. It hovered by the second brightest star in Pala galaxy, a galaxy just next to Neba, staying near a cluster of asteroids surrounding the star. They didn't know what changed in Alpha Kaj that soldiers were brought in, but it offered an opportunity because one of Marmorra's spies was sent in.

"Mara will be able to show you in," Kolivan told them. "However, he requests that we bring as many of our own that are able to fight as possible. He told me that there is something powerful and dangerous in Alpha Kaj. He doesn't know if it is a person or an object, but apparently it is powerful enough to defeat most Druids. He doesn't know why soldiers are called in, for sure, since usually Druids are capable of fast healing. He suspects the Druids are preoccupied with it, thus the need to get people for patrol."

"Do you think they brought this thing to subdue Lance?" Allura questioned Kolivan.

"It is certainly a possibility." Kolivan gave a nod.

"Then we need to go in quick," Keith pressed immediately. "We need to get Lance back."

"Keith, calm down." Shiro squeezed Keith's shoulder. "I agree with you, but going in headfirst will endanger us all. Kolivan, do you have a plan?"

Kolivan stared at him and motioned them all to come closer. "Gather around. I'll explain the plan. If things are going smoothly, we should be able to retrieve the Blue Paladin in no time."

And so they worked, quickly infiltrating Alpha Kaj once more. The Paladins, Allura, Kolivan, and two other Marmorra members went in, while Coran, Slav, the prisoners that helped them with some parts of the plan, and several other Marmorra members stayed in the castle-ship. With an inside man helping them, getting in was a simple matter. Walking through the hallways of Alpa Kaj, however, proved to be a harder thing to do. Not because of the guards, but rather because of the wrongness that permeated the air.

"Does… anyone else feel really, _really_ uneasy here?" Hunk asked as he walked quietly in the darkened hallway.

"I do," Pidge piped up immediately. "Also, is it just me or are there so many less guards around?"

"Alpha Kaj has yet to find a new rhythm," Mara answered. "New soldiers and drones means new schedules. There are less guards around, and we have yet to come up with a schedule that could secure this place properly."

"That means, if we want to strike and get the prisoners, now would be the perfect time," Allura muttered thoughtfully. "Kolivan, will you see to it?"

The Galra nodded. "We'll free as many prisoners as we are able to."

Keith frowned and pressed his hand into the wall. "Guys… don't you think this place is cold?"

Hunk paused. "Now that you mention it… it's colder than the last time we went here, don't you think?"

"The temperature is fine when we went in," Keith told them. "But as we moved, it gradually grows colder."

"There is a room where no guard is allowed in," Mara informed. "It's the coldest part of the ship."

Shiro thought for a bit. "Can you guide us there? It's possible that our friend is being kept there. He can manipulate water and ice, so it's possible that he's using his ability to try to get out."

Mara nodded. "I'll ensure a path that avoids as many guards as possible. Has the Green Paladin deactivated the security cameras yet?"

"They're playing yesterday's footage in a loop, so you don't need to worry about that," Pidge said dismissively.

"I see. Come this way, then."

As they walked, the temperature dropped ever so slightly but constantly. Keith gritted his teeth. He'd become more sensitive to the cold since the ability to control heat and fire awakened, and at times it greatly discomforted him. Even with his armor's temperature-regulating function, he could still feel the coldness prickling his skin. He wished he could just raise his body temperature using his ability, but he was worried that he'd need every last bit of his quintessence later. Dealing with Druids take energy, after all, and with this cold he might need to warm his teammates later.

They soon reached a hallway with a single door at the middle of it. Mara pointed at it. "That's the room."

As per their discussed plan, Mara left to attend to his duties and kept the group safe from the background. The Blade of Marmorra members left with him to free the prisoners. The Paladins and Allura turned to the door and approached it.

They paused when they finally got a good look at it. A thick layer of frost covered the door, white and cold and menacing. The coldness felt like pinpricks on Keith's skin, stabbing relentlessly even as he automatically raised the temperature of the air around him. Moreover, it felt weird; it felt like Lance, but at the same time it didn't. It felt too… distant, without feeling, chilly, whereas Lance's usual ice felt like frozen warmth, no matter how impossible that sounded.

"Keith, the door," Shiro instructed. Keith could hear his nervousness in his voice.

Keith took a deep breath and reached for the door, pressing his palms to it. He grimaced when the coldness stabbed into him mercilessly. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated and focused on his palm, generating enough heat to burn down a house to the ground without actually sparking flames. Despite the intense heat that had his teammates shift back, it took a while for the ice to actually melt and let Keith get to the metal. Even then, the metal was too cold to melt, and Keith coaxed more heat to his palm. After a moment, the metal began to melt. Keith immediately focused the heat on the locking mechanism to make it easier for them to break down the door. When it was done, they pushed the door.

Cold wind slapped them in the face. The entire room was cold, too cold. Almost on reflex, Keith heated up the air, but it didn't work.

The room was dark, making it hard for them to see. Distorted pillars of ice stood here and there without any recognizable pattern. In the middle of the room was a bed, and on it, sitting with his back hunched, was Lance.

"Lance, buddy!" Hunk yelled as he approached the bed. "Oh man, it's so good to see you!"

"Wait, Hunk," Shiro grabbed Hunk's arm, effectively stopping him. "Something isn't right. Let's be careful here."

"What are you talking about? That's Lance!" Keith protested immediately.

"The entire room reeks of something odd," Allura murmured. "Something… dark. Dirty. For some reason, the idea of approaching Lance makes me feel… ill."

"But this is Lance," Hunk objected.

"Has he moved since you called him?" Shiro shot back.

Hunk blinked and turned back to Lance. He hadn't moved an inch.

"We need to approach him anyway if we want to get him home," Pidge tugged Shiro's hand. "Come on. The sooner we can get out of here, the better."

They approached Lance carefully, walking slowly on the slippery, ice covered floor, avoiding the misshapen pillars of ice. Lance didn't move as they approached him, not even when they were finally within touching distance. Keith stared at him, noting how he sat without moving as if he was a statue of ice himself. There wasn't a twitch on his fingers, not a tap on his foot. He didn't even seem to be breathing. It was unnatural, seeing Lance so still.

What made Keith feel most worried, however, was that it felt like _Lance_ was the source of the cold that hung in the room stubbornly. Even with him carefully regulating the heat, the cold pierced through it easily the closer they got to Lance. When he was finally close enough to touch, Keith extended his hand to pat Lance in the shoulder to grab his attention. He stopped midway, hand hovering in the air, too shocked at how Lance felt like dry ice to actually touch him.

Hunk didn't hesitate the way he did. He paused for a moment and steadily placed his palm on Lance's other shoulder. "Lance, buddy? Are you okay? We're here to get you home."

For the first time, Lance seemed to realize that they were there. He twitched and slowly looked up to meet Hunk's gaze. When his face was finally visible, Keith took a step back.

Lance's deep blue eyes had changed into icy blue, so light in color they almost looked white. It was made more jarring by how the normally white sclera had turned dark, inky black. Black tendrils sprouted from the edge of his eyes, painting his temples and cheeks like controlled cracks on glass, looking almost familiar in a way Keith couldn't grasp. Lance didn't look like himself. He almost looked… inhuman.

The lights overhead suddenly blared to life, jolting Keith and making Pidge yelp in surprise. Hunk choked on a scream when the light finally allowed them to see the room clearly.

All the misshapen pillars of ice turned out to be Druids. Druids, encased in ice like some sort of sick, distorted frozen display. Even with their faces obscured, Keith could detect hints of fear and panic in their person. Even though he didn't like them, seeing them like this made him feel almost sorry for them.

He turned back to Lance, disturbed by the frozen Druids and the changes in Lance himself. "Lance?" he called softly. "Lance, did you do all this?"

Lance simply gazed at him wordlessly. His frozen gaze sent chills down Keith's spine.

"You've come for him."

They turned to the door to see a figure standing there. Haggar raised her head, allowing them to see her face, and Keith felt like he had been struck. The black that painted the sides of Lance's face looked somewhat similar to the marks on Haggar's face.

"What have you done to Lance?" Shiro growled. He assumed a fighting stance, though his arm remained inactive.

Haggar strode into the room almost casually. "Careful, my Champion. You do not want to show aggression around him. Look what he's done to my Druids."

"Lance did this…?" Hunk looked around the room, equal parts in terror and in disbelief.

" _What have you done?_ " Shiro repeated, his words heavier than before.

Haggar stopped midway into the room and tilted her head as she stared at Shiro. "We wanted you back, Champion," she told him. "You could have been our greatest weapon, but you ran away. And then we found him." Her gaze shifted to Lance. Keith followed her eyes for a moment before gazing back at her.

She stared at Lance with a gaze that Keith couldn't quite recognize. It looked almost somber, somehow. Yet there was also anger and pride mixed in her stare. "We saw how he could use the elements yet not basic magic Druids are capable of. We saw his potential. So we claimed him."

Shiro staggered back. "You _claimed_ him? Like you claimed me?"

Haggar smiled at him. "That claim on you is still valid, Champion. Do not forget where that arm came from." She turned back to Lance. "But it was different with him. We learned from our mistakes. We know that simply branding his body will not work. That was why I handled him myself. I branded his soul."

"His… soul?" Allura asked in horror.

"You are capable of magic yourself, Princess," Haggar said. "Have you gotten a feel on his quintessence just yet?"

Allura paused before the horror in her face intensified tenfold. Rage slipped into her visage, accompanying the terror. "You corrupted his core?!"

"If the Champion would not submit to us, then the Ice Mage shall take his place and become the empire's greatest weapon," Haggar told them seriously. "If you want to take him, then _he_ will be the one you face."

The already below-freezing temperature pitched even more, dropping drastically into detrimental territory. Keith turned around, not bothering to try to get the temperature up again. It was pretty obvious by then that Lance was consciously keeping the temperature down low. Instead, he assumed a stance at faced Lance.

"Keith, can I trust you to subdue Lance?" Shiro asked as he assumed similar stance, though facing Haggar instead. "You're the only one who can counter Lance's ability."

"I'll try to," Keith gulped. He hadn't been able to control his flames as well as Lance did his water and ice. Not to mention he really didn't want to hurt Lance and Lance in this state obviously wouldn't have any qualms about stabbing him with spikes of ice.

"Hunk, help Keith. You know Lance the best out of us all," Shiro instructed, and Hunk nodded. "The rest will face Haggar. We'll try to get her to return Lance to normal." Shiro leaned to Keith and whispered, "Try not to make flames, just heat. Haggar took interest in Lance because he used ice; I don't want her setting her eyes on you too."

Keith nodded. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and launched himself at Lance.

Lance simply looked at him and flicked his hand. A pillar of water trapped him inside, and he pushed back, only to realize that he was trapped in ice much like the Druids around the room. Panic seized him immediately and he gathered heat around himself. The ice melted. Lance stared.

"Why would you want Lance? Return him to normal!" Pidge yelled in the background.

Haggar growled as a response. "You think I will let him go now? After I've lost so many Druids trying to contain him? No. _I_ corrupted him. _I_ can control him. He is _mine_ , and he will be the empire's greatest creation."

"Keith, are you alright?" Hunk gripped Keith's arm and brought his attention back to the problem at hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Keith nodded. He realized the water that he melted had started to freeze again on his suit. He melted it once more. "Hunk, can you try to talk to Lance? I'll hold him back, but I don't think my words can reach him."

"What? They totally could!" Hunk protested.

"Hunk, are you saying that _I_ of all people should have a heart to heart with Lance?"

Hunk paused. "Good point. Alright, I'll do the talking. I know his family, do you think mentioning them could work?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot." Keith focused his anxiety into heat and prepared himself to deal with Lance's ice again.

"Lance, hey," Hunk began, "are you in there? I mean, you're there, but are you _there_? Cause right now you don't look like you're _there_ and I'd really like to talk to my best friend, you know?"

Lance looked at him as though confused. He tilted his head, still not speaking. It was creepy. Keith never thought he'd say he missed how talkative Lance could be, and yet he really missed talkative Lance right now.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Keith wouldn't see the talkative Lance anytime soon, because Haggar chose that moment to realize what Keith and Hunk were trying to achieve and immediately screeched, "No! I will not let yet another of what is mine taken away from me! Ice Mage, strike them!"

Immediately, Lance's eyes widened as he drew a small gasp. The icy blue flashed white and the markings on his face sparked black electricity before Lance suddenly rushed forward in a flash. He jumped back on reflex, and Lance turned to target Hunk instead, who now was conveniently closer. His hand grabbed Hunk's helmet and the bigger man cried out.

Keith launched a kick to Lance, which was avoided easily. He turned to Hunk to see the side of Hunk's helmet, as well as his cheek, was covered in ice. Hunk was grimacing as though trying to contain pain. Keith had no doubt that he'd be suffering from frostbite. Carefully, he extended his heat and carefully regulated it to melt the ice but not bake Hunk alive.

"Thanks, Keith," he muttered, before bellowing to Lance, "What the heck, Lance! That was _rude_ and you know it! What would your mama say?!"

Lance didn't respond. Instead he launched himself at them again, and Keith blocked his attack before it could connect. With the grace of a dolphin, Lance simply sent another attack that hit Keith's chest and knocked the wind out of him. Not to mention leaving a layer of frost there. keith melted it.

Lance tilted his head, studying him with that unnerving icy blue eyes, and struck.

Keith had had hand-to-hand practice with Lance before. They had compared their fighting styles. Keith's was quick and sharp, brutal. He made use of his smaller stature, relying on speed and quick bursts of power. He jabbed and punched, kicks lighting fast.

Lance's however, was flowy, even showy. It was almost like a dance, graceful and wavy. It became even more so when his ability to use water and ice surfaced and bloomed. Faced with Keith's unforgiving strikes, he usually ended up not being able to dodge or contain the attacks and ended up losing. They never thought much about it, since Lance's forte was long-distance shooting anyway.

Now that Keith faced Lance in hand-to-hand combat involving their own elements, however, Keith saw why exactly Lance's moves were so showy. With every seemingly useless wave of hand, water and ice acted as the extension of his limbs and landed devastating hits. Keith had to concentrate to keep a shield of extreme heat around himself just to keep himself from being trapped in ice again, but even with that it was hard to keep up with Lance's powerful elemental attacks. The deadly dance Lance was presenting him would do him in soon if Keith let this continue on.

"Lance, come on, buddy!" in the background, Hunk kept trying to reach Lance verbally, occasionally using his bayard to shoot at spikes of ice that Lance sent to him before Keith could stop it and smashing it into thousands of tiny shards. "Don't you want to go home? Back to Earth? How can you go home if you won't even come out? Think about what your mama would say! Think about your little girls! Klara and Karina would be devastated to see you like this!"

The names made Lance flinch back and the water that he had prepared drop and vanish. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward again, with bare hands this time. Keith easily caught him and pinned him to the floor, finding him much easier to fight when he wasn't using water and ice. He struggled against Keith's hold, and Keith pushed him harder.

"And what about your big bro Arlo? You said he was about to get married when we left! Don't you think he deserves an explanation why you never showed? Don't you think he misses you?" Hunk kept going, approaching Lance and practically shouting to his face. "And Theo! You said you want to see him for his birthday! And your older sister Maria!"

Lance cried in dismay. Frost grew under his back, spreading ever wider in vine-like patterns. Keith channeled the heat around him to melt the frost, but they endured under the summer sun he exuded.

"And what about us?" Hunk went on, voice cracking. "What about Shiro, and Pidge, and Keith, and me? What about Allura and Coran? We miss you, Lance. I can tell that Allura is willing to put up with your cheesy pick-up lines as long as you're back. Please come back to us."

Lance struggled still under Keith's weight. He pounded the floor, and even more frost spiderwebbed out of his fist.

Hunk groaned. "This isn't working. We need some other way to get through. Something more effective. Like…" He paused for a moment, forehead wrinkled. His eyes darted around as though reading through an invisible board. Then, without warning, he pulled off his helmet and gripped the sides of Lance's head, ignoring the frost that immediately climbed up his arms.

"Hunk, what are you doing?" Keith demanded instantly, a little out of breath. Lance's struggling was really persistent.

Hunk paused before answering, "I'm going to force-mend my bond with Lance."

"Is… that safe?"

"I don't know." Before Keith could object to Hunk's plan, the bigger man slammed his forehead into Lance's and pressed them together.

Lance froze for a moment before he struggled anew, screaming desperately and trying to push Hunk away, but Hunk held on stubbornly. Before long, he was screaming along with Lance. Through his bond with Hunk, Keith could feel an entirely unwelcome sensation of slinky darkness wriggling through. He couldn't decide which was worse, the screaming or the dark.

"Get out, get out, get out!" Hunk growled in between screams.

It was clear for Keith that neither of his nearest teammates were even aware of him then. He gritted his teeth, concentrated, and plunged deep into their bonds without a second thought, reaching for Lance's dangling tatters of a bond and trying to reconnect.

Almost immediately, he was swarmed by suffocating darkness. It probed him for a moment and immediately pulled him down, obscuring his vision with blotches of black. He gasped and pulled back out on reflex.

The sounds of Lance and Hunk screaming slammed into his ears again. He could feel agitation from both Shiro and Pidge because of it all, and that was saying something considering that the bond normally stayed dormant, almost inactive. Keith closed his eyes and prepared himself before he dove in once more.

The darkness dragged him in without giving him any moment to counter. This time, instead of pulling back, Keith plunged deep into the center of the darkness. Aggressive and _wrong_ as it was, he was sure Lance was buried somewhere deep inside. It didn't stop him from feeling disturbed, though, and it didn't stop him from letting out a scream that never quite stopped, joining the cacophony Lance and Hunk had created earlier.

As he tried to slough off the muddy dark that permeated Lance's bond, he could feel something, warm and steady and unmistakably _yellow_ as the ray of the sun, by him. He gave Hunk a mental nod before he resumed trying to get to Lance.

It was a hard and tiring work. Digging into the bond itself was tiring, and the dark continually tried to take over and tainted his own blazing red. He had to keep his flames around him to protect himself, and it was hard having to pull back. He wished he could just flare up and burn the darkness away, but he could potentially hurt Hunk. He could potentially burn away Lance, as well, considering how he couldn't tell just how corrupted Lance's quintessence was. Besides, could it even work? He still didn't know what exactly his flames could do. Best to play it safe for now.

After what felt like hours of digging and fending off the dark, he finally saw a flash of blue in the distance. In a heartbeat, he dove in to reach the blue that was obscured by inky, repulsive black. He could feel warm yellow doing the same right next to him, providing support as it hit away the black to create a pathway.

It took a while, but they finally reached the blue. Keith had been ready to pull Lance out immediately, but he instead recoiled. He couldn't see it clearly before, but apparently the bright blue that he had come to associate with Lance was nowhere to be seen. In its place was sullied, muddy blue, something that made Keith think of a blue cloth that had somehow been used to wipe away car oil, thrown to the streets, and ran over by at least a hundred wheels. It stunned him silent; it made him feel like crying for some reason. Had Lance endured all this abuse alone? All by himself?

Hunk, however, didn't waste time staring like Keith did. Yellow leapt forward and enveloped dirtied blue, trying to get him to resurface once more. It was worrying to realize that the blue didn't react, as if it was unconscious even within the mental plane. Hunk prodded Lance, again and again, leaving Keith alone to fend off the dark that kept trying to swallow them whole. Occasionally, Keith sent a wave of heat a touch too hot to be called warmth, trying hard to get Lance to respond somehow.

He could feel Hunk's irritation at the heatwave, but when they both realized it somehow managed to rouse Lance, hope sparked anew. Keith could feel Hunk prodding at him, _come on, again, again, it's working._

Blue clung to yellow desperately, and Lance gasped as he finally seemed himself for the first time.

And then blue pushed both yellow and red away.

* * *

A/N: At first I planned to post chapter 3 and 4 as one full chapter, but then I realized the word count would make it a monster of a chapter because together they have like 7k+ words or something. So I broke them down into two.

Anyway, things will have to get worse for our beautiful blue boy before they get better, but they _are_ getting better. I won't be _that_ mean to Lance, I love him too much for that.

Next chapter will be up in a few days, so keep a lookout. Have a great day!


	4. The Mending

Chapter Four: The Mending

Lance was drowning. He floated in the great darkness that wrapped itself around him without ever letting go eyes closed, too exhausted to fight off the tainting black and take in the air he desperately needed. He didn't know how long he'd been there, and he didn't know if he'd be able to ever see the light again. A part of him longed to break free. The rest simply didn't care, because he didn't mind if he was gone as long as…

As long as…

As long as what?

It took too much work trying to remember. Lance was tired, so tired. He felt like he'd fought long enough. He just wanted to rest.

Just as he resigned himself to float aimlessly in the dark forever, a speck of light glimmered in the distance. Lance squinted at it, wondering what it was doing there. Somehow, it felt warm and nice. Like cuddles.

Then the light overwhelmed him suddenly. He gasped as the dark was chased away for the first time in so long, as steady yellow and passionate red overwhelmed his vision. Memory rushed in as the dark was swept away, and with it came the terror and panic.

 _No. No!_ he pushed away the yellow and red, desperately trying to get them to _get out, the dark will get you, let me be the only one it claims, please_. But once he could get taste of what air felt like, he found himself not wanting to drown again. It didn't matter how much he didn't want his friends to be dragged under, he just didn't want to be overpowered by the dark that had held him captive for so long.

 _Don't push us away,_ Hunk sent a thought through the bond Lance thought was already broken. Had it mended itself somehow?

 _She'll get you. I can't let her get you._ Lance sent back, still trying to keep both yellow and red at arm's length. _Please. I don't want you to get hurt._

 _We don't want you to get hurt either,_ Keith heatedly replied. _We want you back._

 _But Haggar could get you through the bond. Unless she's defeated or we can make the bond Haggar-proof, I can't let you do this._

 _We'll drive her away,_ Hunk resolutely decided, yellow flaring in determination. _We'll get her out of the bond. We'll get you back at the castle, and we'll find a way to protect the bond from Druid magic. But you gotta let us help you, Lance. We can't do this without your help._

Lance wasn't sure he could take that risk. If they weren't careful, Haggar could easily extend the corruption she had planted in Lance's quintessence, the taint that still smudged his blue and made him feel so gross, but he also wanted that taint to be gone. Both Hunk and Keith could fend off the darkness for so long, surely all of them together could fight off Haggar's influence?

A wave of steady resolution and fierce protectiveness from yellow and red swept muddy blue, and Lance made his decision then and there. Both Hunk and Keith had been strong, fighting off the destructive dark that had overwhelmed Lance long ago. They were the piercing ray of lighthouse in the middle of tumultuous, stormy sea, and Lance wanted the safety they promised.

 _Okay_. He reached out and gripped the warm colors. They enveloped him immediately, heat flaring off of red to fend off the dark while yellow wrapped itself around blue to shield him.

Then both yellow and red slammed into blue, pushing in and pulling out the taint that had muddled Lance's quintessence. Hunk barricaded what bright blue still remained and pulled in anything that had been cleansed while Keith burned away the dark that clung to Lance like glue. Fueled by their determination, Lance let whatever was left of his own power to cleanse the corrupted core. Water cleansed, he remembered. He should be able to cleanse his core.

Just as the dark seemed to relent a little, just as a spark of hope bloomed in their chest because maybe, _maybe_ , this is doable after all, maybe they could drive Haggar off completely, a new wave of vicious darkness smashed into them. A screech and a wave of anger that felt somehow familiar to Lance grabbed them strongly.

 _I will not let you take away what is mine!_ The dark, now looking almost ominous purple, growled at them. _The Ice Mage will serve the empire. I won't let you get away._

Lance _is not yours,_ Keith growled at Haggar, flaring up his heat to get her to release her hold, but she persisted.

 _If you won't let go,_ Haggar hissed, _then you shall have to be claimed, as well._

Fear and panic gripped Lance immediately. _No!_

Too late. Waves of inky black rushed to them, more vicious and persistent than before, crawling and gnawing at the colors that once were pristine. All three Paladins cried – Lance in terror, Hunk in panic, Keith in anger – and the onslaught continued. They tried to force away the darkness, but Haggar was relentless and much more experienced in the way of magic. Keith fought still, refusing to keel over, but Lance was too exhausted, and Hunk's focus was to keep Lance's quintessence clean and nearly didn't pay any attention to his own dangerously darkening color.

Then sharp green and sleek black rushed in, fending off the inky black that had threatened to roll them over. With a cry, Pidge rushed at ominous purple, which drew back in sheer surprise that these newcomers would risk corruption, themselves.

 _Shiro,_ Lance breathed.

Shiro's black shimmered, almost silvery. _Lance_ , he acknowledged before he rushed ahead and joined Pidge in the fray, creating a cacophony of green, purple, and silvery black.

Something else, something soft and royal and so unmistakably pink slid into place, sitting next to the tired blue. _Lance, I need you to do something for me. Keith, Hunk, you two as well._

Lance stared at the pink in surprise. _Allura? You can reach us through the bond?_

 _Not for long,_ Allura answered urgently. _I'm using my connection to the lions to get here. Since Haggar is here, I need to fight her here as well, though I won't be able to actually stay for long. I need you to do something for me, all of you._

 _What is it?_ Keith readily asked.

 _I already asked Pidge and Shiro of this,_ Allura spoke quickly, words so rushed they almost mashed together. _I can hold Haggar off for a bit since I can use a bit of magic, but I won't be here long so you all have to drive her off on your own. The problem is that you aren't well-versed in magic, and you don't have enough sheer power to drive her off with it. So I need you all to get in touch with each your lions and borrow their power instead._

 _Allura, that's…_ Lance gulped. _I cut off my bond with Blue. She hasn't been responding._

 _I'm sorry, Lance, but you have to try,_ Allura insisted. _It's the only way I can think of._ With that, she left them, and pink suddenly turned aggressive as it took over from green and black to face off with purple.

Pidge and Shiro receded to the background, turning to join the rest of the Paladins. _Allura explained everything, right?_ Pidge asked them.

 _Yeah, I'm trying to get to Red right now,_ Keith nodded.

 _Yellow's all ready_ , Hunk added.

 _Great, cause Green's ready too._ Pidge looked at Shiro expectantly.

 _Black's been ready for a while._ Shiro turned to Lance. _Lance?_

Lance frowned, reaching for the cold remains of his bond with Blue. _Blue's not responding._

 _Try, Lance,_ Shiro prodded.

 _If we want to drive Haggar off, shouldn't just one lion be enough?_ Lance protested.

 _Allura is sure that if we want to make sure the bond would be safe later on this is the way_ , Shiro explained. _She is also sure that this way, we'll tie our quintessence with our lions'. It should protect the quintessence from corruption, too._

Lance concentrated and reached deep. He gripped at the end of the broken bond and tried to feel Blue, tried to get her to answer him. He called, over and over, pleading her to answer, channeling his desperation and fear and hope through the unresponsive bond. The connection remained silent.

His friends patiently waited wordlessly, which Lance was grateful for, though he could feel their agitation through the Paladin bond. After a while, though, their agitation spiked suddenly as the pink within their midst vanished away. Purple began to surge up to attack the cluster of colors.

Desperation within Lance spiked like never before. He gripped the tatters of the bond and all but screamed, _BLUE!_

Finally, a spark. The bond tightened and twined, suddenly reconnecting and mending itself in an incredible speed. Rushes of feelings nearly overwhelmed Lance, waves of relief and anger and indignation and protectiveness making him unable to speak. Lance sent waves of apology and panic in return, pleading to Blue, _please, please, help, else we'll all be tainted._

Around him, he could feel the presence of Yellow, Red, Green, and Black through their respective paladins. Their power surged up and charged the bonds, and instinctually Lance knew that with the addition of Blue there would be enough force to drive off anything that harmed or could harm the Paladins, the Lions, or the bonds. He could feel Blue, too, slowly building her own energy into the mix through her newly rediscovered bond with Lance.

Haggar's darkness swirled and rushed to them.

Lance closed his eyes tight, almost ready to be blasted by the repulsive darkness that he had become familiar with, when Blue's power bubbled up within him. At the same time, the other lions' power surfaced, rising up and mixing with one another, including Blue's. They swirled and twined around one another, creating a concoction of power that felt almost like Voltron, but somehow… different. A bit more unstable, and a bit more… biting. There was an undercurrent of anger that never appeared when forming Voltron. Was the fact that they were using the bond as a conduit to release that energy instead of the actual Voltron playing some important factors in how it felt so different and yet similar at the same time?

The mix of power that created Voltron-but-not-really rose, creating a ghostly avatar above the Paladins' heads. Haggar screamed, her purple sending vibes of anger and fear mixing into one. She tried to stop the dark, to pull back out of the connection she was currently forcing herself into, but the avatar didn't let her. It stood, its shape resembling Voltron itself, and ran to Haggar with a semi-transparent blade held in its hands. It slashed.

A blast of pure, unadulterated energy flung Lance out of the depths of the bond. Suddenly he found himself in his own body instead of the otherworldly place that was the mental plane the bond manifested in. It was disorienting, to expect yourself to be in one place only to find out that you were in another. It was made even more confusing by the fact that the alarms were blaring loudly.

As he blinked a few times, eyes staring at the ceiling above him while trying to reorient himself, he became aware that whatever muddy dark that still persisted within him had completely evaporated from his skin.

"Paladins!" Allura's voice trilled above the screams of the alarms. "We need to move now! The guards finally realized what's happening. We need to get out of here before they start capturing people."

Someone shifted near Lance. "Will do, Princess," Shiro told her. "Can you guys move?"

"Yeah," came Keith's reply, as he pushed himself up. One by one, the Paladins followed his example, though Lance did it last.

And Lance froze. He let his eyes roamed the room, taking in the view of frozen Druids within pillars of ice. He gulped and asked to no one in particular, "I did this, didn't I?"

"You weren't yourself," Hunk objected.

"But it was me," Lance whispered. "It's my ice. I can feel it." He let go of what little control that he apparently held to keep the pillars of ice in place. The ice vanished, and the Druids fell. Lance looked away swallowed a bile that rose when he saw that some of them were smashed like broken statues, probably during a battle or something.

Pidge nudged Lance. "Come on, Lance. No point in dwelling on that, now. We need to get out."

Shiro and Hunk both pulled Lance up to his feet. All six of them left the room, though halfway to the door Lance paused when he saw Haggar sprawled not too far away.

"Do you think she's dead?" he asked softly. He wasn't sure what he felt about it.

"I wouldn't know," Shiro answered. "She's like a cockroach sometimes, able to survive seemingly extremely lethal attack."

"No time to check, we need to move now," Keith urged. From outside the door, the Blade of Marmorra members motioned to them to move, and the sound of hurried footfalls announced the coming of the guards.

"Is it secure to go out from the way we went in earlier?" Allura asked Kolivan as they began navigating through the long corridors.

"Mara made sure of that," Kolivan replied.

Even though they moved fast, the guards eventually began to catch up with them. Lance was confused as to why there were so many Galra soldiers around when Alpha Kaj's security was made up by Druids and drones, but then he remembered the mess in that room he was put in. He shuddered. He summoned his bayard so he could help fend off the attacks, but he found himself too weak to do even that.

Useless little thing.

"Don't call yourself useless," Hunk growled as he blasted a group of drones with his own bayard. "You were in there for three weeks, and your quintessence is pretty much depleted. You're great on your own right."

"Aw, Hunk, thanks for the compliment, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't help you guys here." Lance threw him a smile. He paused. "Wait, three weeks? Really?"

"Boys, run first, chat later," Shiro grunted. They complied.

They managed to escape Alpha Kaj somehow, even with the shots from the drones and guards raining around them. By the time they reached the Castle of Lions, Lance had been too exhausted to do anything more than leaning on Hunk, who readily supported him.

"We'll get you to the pod soon, so hang on a bit," Hunk whispered to his ear.

"Wait, I gotta see Blue…" Lance shook his head to chase away the weirdly comforting dark that slowly seeped through the edges of his vision.

"Blue will understand, Lance. You need rest."

Lance could see the logic in Hunk's words, so he let himself be ushered away into one of the healing pods. He reached to the mended bond with Blue to send thoughts of apology and promises to talk later.

The bond remained silent.

* * *

It took a whole day and a half for Lance's quintessence level to go back to normal, during which he spent in a healing pod. It took another half day for him to be released back out because the pod also cleansed the remaining taint of corruption and the wounds he received during the time he was captive. By the time he was finally back out again, he had expected to feel Blue's distinct voice in his mind.

The bond was silent, still.

After assuring the others that he was fine, Lance rushed into Blue's hangar. He watched her there, laying still without moving with the particle barrier up. He pressed his palm into it, hoping that it would be enough to coax her into lowering the barrier, but she remained unresponsive.

That had been three days ago. For the most part, Lance had spent his time in the hangar just sitting around, trying to send his thoughts and feelings through the bond to get her to respond. Most of them were frustration, by this point.

"Blue, just open up," he sighed. "It's me. It's gone on long enough. Come on."

Blue stayed silent. For some reason, Lance got the impression that she snorted. He scowled.

The sound of footsteps made him turn, and to his surprise he found Pythia approaching him. He threw her a smile, stood, and greeted, "Hello. I thought you went back already?"

Pythia returned his smile. "I have reasons to believe I may be needed again here," she answered. "Princess Allura has agreed to make contact with my planet, however. I'll act as an envoy of sorts for a while. My people will decide later whether it would be more beneficial if I stay here or go back home."

"I'd be glad to have more beautiful ladies around here," Lance admitted with a grin, "but I think you should at least meet your family while you still have a chance to."

Pythia smiled solemnly, but didn't say anything. She turned to look at Blue. "Have you had a talk with Blue Lion?"

"Ah, no." Lance rubbed his neck, partly because of the embarrassment and partly because it was getting sore. Pythia was just so _tall_. "I've been trying to reach her and get her to lower the barrier but she's not responding well." He winced at how frustration bled out freely in his voice.

Pythia hummed. "I'm sure she wants to talk to you, as well. Perhaps you should try not being so prickly with your approach."

Lance winced again. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's bad enough that a complete stranger can pick it up," Pythia answered, all three eyes twinkling with amusement.

Lance sighed. "Yeah… you're right. I really should start treating my girl better."

Pythia smiled and bowed slightly. "Then… I shall leave you two. I wish you the best of luck, Blue Paladin."

Lance returned the smile. "Thanks, Pythia." He watched her leave, waited until the last strand of her way too long hair disappeared around the corner. He sighed and turned back to Blue.

The gigantic robot lion was still lying motionlessly, but now he could feel something through the bond. Blue was watching, waiting, wanting to know what he would do.

Lance stepped closer to the particle barrier and pressed his palm to it. He breathed, closed his eyes, putting his forehead at the barrier, pressed. "Blue, just open up," he breathed softly, sending his apologies and desires to truly reconnect through the bond. "It's me. It's gone on long enough."

A spark of contemplation, and the barrier was down. Lance smiled as he took a step back, sending thoughts of gratitude to Blue. She was still silent for the most part, though.

He walked closer to Blue. She opened her mouth and let him in. He stepped in, walked to the cockpit, and sat on the familiar seat. He leaned back and closed his eyes, letting Blue's presence wash through him. She was waiting.

His mind wandered to the time he cut off their bond. Blue definitely didn't want him to do that, yet he still did without even giving her the chance to talk. Granted, he believed there was no time to look up other solutions, but Blue must have been really hurt because of his action. He'd be really hurt too if he had been Blue.

"I'm sorry, Blue," he whispered softly. His eyes were beginning to feel hot, wet. "If there were more time, I wouldn't have done what I did. But I was sure there was no time. I was sure that breaking the bond was the only way to make sure everyone is safe."

There was a flare of anger, far stronger than the lukewarm impressions that had gone through the bond before. It was surprising, given that Blue had been largely silent. Well, still silent even now, but before she didn't even send feelings down the link.

"Okay, I wasn't safe," Lance admitted once he got through his surprise. "I just thought… better me than everyone else. That was selfish of me."

Blue's anger receded, but she didn't say anything more. She was still waiting for him to say more.

"Blue," Lance hummed, "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I cut off the bond without your consent. It must have been painful for you. I hope I can make it up to you somehow. Please, Blue… will you give me a chance?"

Silence, contemplation. It was a moment too long for Lance, and nervousness gripped his every cell.

And then, a purr; an actual voice down the bond, one that Lance hadn't realized he had missed so badly until it finally reached him and filled him with warmth and love and just a bit of frustration.

 _Lance._

Lance laughed, a single relieved tear falling down his cheek as he finally felt like things would be alright again.

 _Blue._

* * *

A/N: Ayyy, it's finally done! Well, I mean, it was done before I posted chapter one, so really it was all just the waiting game, but still. Anyway, Lance will have issues because of how he was corrupted (thanks, Haggar), and I plan to address that in the rest of the series.

That's right, folks, this will be a series. The first installment would be Seas-Stream-Rain, and this is the second. The other stories will be about how the other Paladins get their own elemental powers. I plan to make them okay to be read as stand-alone stories, though. Next in the series would be Keith discovering his powers, though I'm not sure when it'll be uploaded. Soon, hopefully.

Anyway, thanks a bunch for sticking around, following, favoriting, and/or reviewing. Your support is greatly appreciated, and the reviews have honestly made me smile so much. Definitely much more than being offered a slice of cake, and that's saying something.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have a great day!


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